The Nurse Manager - ED operates within the ALMH and Nursing Division mission, vision, strategic priorities and goals. Utilizing a shared leadership philosophy, the Nurse Manager assumes 24-hour accountability for unit management and the quality of patient care on a designated unit(s). The Nurse Manager creates and maintains a work environment conducive to effective communication, collaboration, teambuilding and nursing professionalism. She/he ensures the enculturation of the Pathways to Excellence Program requirements on the unit. She/he assures that care provided on the unit is appropriate to the age of the patients served and that the staff are competent to provide safe, quality, evidence-based nursing care. She/he maintains positive physician and interdepartmental relationships as well as positive employee morale. 

Education: 

• BSN required within 2 years of hire date 
• Master’s degree preferred. 

Licensure/Certification/Registry: 

• Current Illinois RN licensure required.

Experience: 

• At least three years of experience as a registered nurse with demonstrated progressive leadership/management skills. 

Other Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: 

• Demonstrated working knowledge of the ANCC Pathways to Excellence Recognition Program model and standards. 
• Demonstrated understanding of nurse-sensitive quality indicators and basic hospital/nursing regulatory requirements. 

Scope of Supervision:

1. The Nurse Manager reports to the Director of Nursing (and indirectly to the CNO if Director or Administrator is outside the DON’s direct reporting line).
2. Personnel reporting to this position will include nursing staff and auxiliary personnel.
3. The Nurse Manager coordinates the management of patient care with unit staff, other departments and the nursing supervisors (on off shifts).
4. The Nurse Manager is a leader, mentor and patient advocate. This individual must possess the skills to identify, introduce and assimilate change successfully into the practice environment.
5. Performs other related work as required or requested.

I.         Leadership:

A.       Personal and Professional Growth:

1.       Demonstrates responsibility for own personal and professional growth as reflected in ongoing education, projects, and annual professional development plan.

2.       Provides and receives formal peer-to-peer feedback among nurse leader colleagues.

3.       Empowers self and staff to enhance patient-focused nursing care and quality patient outcomes as reflected in patient satisfaction and quality improvement efforts.

4.       Fosters an environment which focuses on values, professionalism and accountability, where staff and management see each other as partners in the decision making process.

5.       Serves as a professional nurse role model and works to encourage and develop future nursing leaders as a function of succession planning. 

B.       Clinical Knowledge:

1. Maintains an understanding of the unit’s primary patient populations and their care needs/requirements.
2. Keeps up-to-date on new clinical treatments/services being developed/implemented for primary patient populations.
3. Maintains a sound knowledge base of current trends and developments in nursing practice in order to lead unit-based changes to improve patient care delivery.

1. Collaborative Practice:
2. Demonstrates ability and willingness to collaborate with peers and staff.
3. Shows commitment to the development of inter-departmental/intraprofessional collaboration for improvement of patient care, unit efficiency and effectiveness.
4. Develops working relationships with the medical staff that encourage problem solving on all levels.
5. Builds and maintains a strong Unit-Based Council to facilitate shared decision-making process.

1. Community Involvement:
2. Involves self with professional organizations and community health-related services and agencies.

1. Communication Skill:
2. Encourages and facilitates a work climate conducive to open, honest communication and incorporates an effective information sharing process to ensure staff are kept up to date on key changes/issues affecting their work processes.

1. Demonstrates a communication style which is supportive and non-threatening, thus providing an environment that allows for open expression of ideas and problem solving.

1. Attends Nurse Management Council and Department Managers’ meetings and relays pertinent information to staff.

• Human Resources:

1. Is accountable for recruitment, interviewing, selection and retention of unit-based staff.

1. Is accountable for scheduling of personnel to assure quality patient care within budget requirements.

1. Is accountable for staff performance monitoring/feedback/appraisal and initiating corrective/disciplinary action as necessary, in accordance with hospital policies.

1. Holds regular staff meetings in order to facilitate communication of organizational imperatives/changes as well as unit issues.

1. Encourages staff to identify personal and professional growth needs and facilitates appropriate opportunities for that growth.
2. Maintains a climate which provides ongoing appreciation and recognition of achievements.

1. Supports appropriate risk-taking efforts by staff and peers.

1. Assists in the development of and supports divisional programs/initiatives that promote recruitment/retention and satisfaction of staff members.
2. Fiscal Management:
3. Budget Preparation:
4. Participates in the preparation of the annual budget for areas of responsibility.
5. Identifies capital equipment items needed.
6. Identifies and evaluates present and future staffing needs.

1. Budget Monitoring:
2. Establishes quotas of supplies, analyzes financial and productivity reports.
3. Reviews and evaluates monthly expenditures and operating statements and implements corrective action plans to address variances as necessary.

1. Designs and implements cost-effective strategies that will enhance effective and efficient patient care delivery.

1. Educates staff regarding operation of the unit and fiscal responsibilities.

1. Maintains sound knowledge base of current trends and developments in health care related to reimbursement issues.

1. Planning:
2. Engages staff in developing annual unit goals and individual goals consistent with ALMH’s Strategic Priorities, the MHS Nursing Strategic Plan and the ALMH annual Nursing goals.

1. Develops mechanisms with staff to fulfill unit goals and objectives.

1. Reviews goals and plans of action with staff on a regular basis.

1. Performance and Outcomes Improvement:
2. Identifies quality improvement opportunities and uses appropriate QI tools/techniques to evaluate potential solutions.

1. Leads intra-and inter-departmental problem solving to ensure resolution of clinical issues and adoption of “best practices.”

1. Collaborates with staff in evaluating standards of care in relation to a particular patient population. Measures and validates that identified outcomes are met.

1. Assures unit performance measurement data is gathered, monitored and reported and facilitates its use in improving quality and/or efficiency.

• Research:

1. Creates an environment that promotes analytical thinking in the resolution of identified clinical problems and the adoption of evidence-based nursing practice.

1. Provides opportunities and resources to encourage staff to participate in nursing research/scholarship activities.

1. Fosters collaborative research relationships with other healthcare institutions and healthcare providers.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job.  Incumbents may be requested to perform tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.